Survivor: Game Changers: More About the Hidden Immunity Idol Situation

Survivor host Jeff Probst has divulged a bit more about what to expect in Game Changers when it comes to Hidden Immunity Idols.

Hidden Immunity Idols are basically the equivalent of drawing wild cards. Sure, they have a lot of power, but in a game where you’re playing with incomplete knowledge at all times, wasting that power could mean disaster down the road. Granted, you usually need to exert yourself a bit more in Survivor than a game of cards. Of course, that emphasis is on usually for the upcoming season, thanks to Jeff Probst.

Probst sat down with Entertainment Weekly and fleshed out an earlier tease about the Hidden Immunity Idols in Game Changers. Here’s what he had to say:

"“Usually there’s a theme. You have to find [Hidden Immunity Idols] in a certain way or work a certain amount of effort to get it. Not this time. One might drop in your lap, one might be at Tribal, one might be at the bottom of the well, one might be at a challenge.”"

An Idol at Tribal Council? That adds a new element of sneakiness to what’s pretty much a set affair. (We also agree with EW ‘s Dalton Ross that it would be amazing.) The only question is: where will it be? Presumably it’ll be hidden among the items scattered on the voting table, or even on the top of the voting urn. The Idol-as-handle-to-something has been done before, but it might end up being too obvious that way.

Additionally, finding Hidden Immunity Idols at challenges worked quite well, at least in this writer’s opinion, during seasons like Cambodia. It adds a huge element of risk in the early game, since players don’t have large windows to try and snag the Idol. In the pre-merge phase, not putting the work in at challenges could easily be the final nail in a player’s coffin. Again, sneakiness is paramount.

However, it also seems like this randomness might also change how many Idols we see used this season. Since there’s no consistency, players might have a tougher time finding them, which means they’ll also hold onto them more. Probst did acknowledge this possibility to EW and even said that they’ll hold these plans for the next seasons of Survivor if it doesn’t work out.

Then again, we do have plenty of experienced Idol hunters in the cast. It seems like everyone’s ready for anything and everything to happen. All of this might even result in players suspecting that the twist is that there are no Idols, only to have one played at Tribal Council, possibly in an effort to blindside that very player.

Next: Check out the First Seven Minutes of Game Changers

Who knows? We might see someone find an Idol in this week’s premiere of Survivor: Game Changers.